Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Pete Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability (能力) to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.
So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practicing them.
Tongue twisters are helpful in improving skills.
| A．listening | B．pronunciation |
| C．writing | D．communication |
The first tongue twister is hard because .
| A．it is very boring to read |
| B．it teaches us a lot of knowledge |
| C．we don’t know who “she” is |
| D．the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar |
The passage is probably taken from in a school newsaper.
| A．Story Time | B．Latest News |
| C．Study Garden | D．Lost and Found |
It's late evening in the middle of the winter． The snow is deep， but off I go into the wild．Suddenly， I hear it： the howl （嚎叫） of wolves． Excitedly， I walk faster in the direction of the howling．
I've been working as a volunteer wolf tracker in Yellowstone National Park for over a year． It's my job to follow wolves to record information about them． Like wolves， however， I don't work alone． I'm one of a team of people who have been in a project to help reintroduce wolves to the park．
Humans have always feared wolves． From fairy tales to movies， the wolf is always the bad guy a danger to humans and other animals． In the 1920s， the organizers of the park shared this view about wolves and made the decision to drive them away from the park．As a result，the number of elk（麋鹿）in the park increased． The elk started looking for food near river banks since they didn't have to worry about wolves．This， in turn， stopped trees from growing along the rivers， doing great harm to the environment there．
The return of wolves has already made a big difference． To begin with， the elk soon learned to stay away from the rivers， so new trees have been able to grow there． The trees become home to new wildlife， such as birds， and provide food for more animals．
The park is now becoming more and more popular with those who want to see wolves in their natural environment． It has also helped the local people make more money， Tourists visit the area，stay in the local hotels， and eat in the local restaurants．
Looking at the wild animals and the beautiful sceneries around me， I am amazed at the changes the wolf has made to Yellowstone．And happily，it is playing a good guy in this story．
（1）According to the passage， one of a wolf tracker's jobs is to ．
A． catch wolves in the park
B． feed wolves in the wild
C． stop wolves from killing elk
D． collect information about wolves
（2）Why did the organizers drive the wolves away from the park in the 1920s？
A． The wolves were always howling at night．
B． The elk in the park were in danger of dying out．
C． The wolves had done great harm to the environment．
D． The park was thought to be unsafe with wolves around．
（3）Paragraphs 4 and 5 are mainly about the that wolves have brought to Yellowstone．
A． risks
B． troubles
C． changes
D． competitions
（4）What does the writer mean by the underlined sentence in the last paragraph？
A． Wolves are important to Yellowstone．
B． Yellowstone has been home to wolves．
C． The wolf and the elk live in peace now．
D．The number of wolves is growing fast．
Is there a connection between music and language？According to recent studies，the answer is yes：Music helps develop certain language abilities in the brain．
A study from Northwestern University shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability． As a part of the study， two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room．The people in the first group were musicians， while those in the second group had no musical training．The musicians were found to be able to hear the talking person more clearly．
Musicians hear better， says study leader Nina Kraus， because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds． For example， when the violinists play in an orchestra （管弦乐队），they must listen closely to what they are playing and ignore （忽视） the other sounds． In this way， musicians can hear certain sounds better， even in a room with lots of noise．
Gottfried Schlaug，a doctor at Harvard Medical School，works with stroke （中风） patients．Because of their illness， these people cannot say their names，addresses， or other information normally．However， they can still sing． Dr． Schlaug was surprised to find singing words helped his patients finally speak． Why does this work？Schlaug isn't sure． Music seems to be able to make different parts of the brain active， including the bad parts． In some way， this helps patients use those parts of the brain again．
So music is not only enjoyable， but also good for us in many other ways． Playing an instrument or singing， says Nina Kraus， can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp as we get older．
（1）What were the people in tbe first group asked to do in the study of Nothwestern University？
A．Listen to different kinds of music．
B． Make some noise in an empty room．
C． Give the second group musical training．
D． Find out what the talking person was saying．
（2）The writer uses the example of violinists in Paragraph 3 to explain ．
A． how musicians play in an orchestra
B． how musicians ignore certain sounds
C． why musicians have better hearing ability
D． why musicians are not afraid of loud noise
（3）Gottfried Schlaug helps his stroke patients speak by ．
A． playing music for them
B．getting them to sing words
C． teaching them to play instruments
D． joining the bad parts of their brain
（4）What is the main purpose of the passage？
A． To introduce different ways of playing music．
B． To give some advice about making our brain active．
C． To show the relationship between music and language abilities．
D． To sbare the results of recent studies on treating stroke patients．
Future View
I think it will be great if they invent something so that we only have to sleep for one or two， hours every day．Then we'd all have much more time to do．things and to enjoy ourselves． Life would be better， I think， and everyone would do a lot more with their lives．
Miguel
If I could choose anything， I'd go for a time machine so that I could go back and do some things differently． Of course，that's impossible一but wouldn't it be great if it was possible？ I wish I could go back in time to when I was a kid and say some of the things in a different way!
Hannah
Well， of course， the best thing is medicine for really bad diseases（疾病）．A lot of scientists are working very hard to stop diseases like Ebola，a terrible disease that has killed many thousand people in Africa．So if they， found a special treatment for Ebola， or a way of completely preventing it，life would be easier in so many places．
Isabella
It will be great if there is some kind of fuel（燃料） we can use in cars that won't produce any pollution．I guess there are scientists right now trying to do that， and I hope they'll succeed because the world would be a much cleaner place， wouldn't it？
Charlie
I wish there was a machine that did homework! Wouldn't that be fantastic？ But I guess teachers wouldn't be very happy．
Georgina
（1）Why does Hannah want to go back in time？
A． To be young again．
B． To live a better life．
C． To do something for Africans．
D． To say some words differently．
（2）Who might be worried about the pollution of the world？
A． Miguel．
B． Isabella．
C． Charlie．
D． Georgina．
（3）In which part of a newspaper may this passage appear？
A． Health．
B． Science．
C． Travel．
D． Education．
It's a school holiday today． It's warm and the sun is shining．It's the perfect day for an outing． Zack，Vera， Kelly and Tim are discussing what they are going to do． Let's listen and see what happens…
Zack： Hey you guys， it would be a shame to stay inside on a day like this． How about taking the bus to Stanley and going to the beach？
Tim： [excitedly] That sounds great．
Kelly：I'm in! But can we go to the mall first so I can get some suntan oil？
Zack： [hesitantly（犹豫地）] Well， Kelly， I suppose we've got time…
Vera： And we can stop off in Tsim Sha Tsui and get something to eat first．I'm sorry，but I don't think I'll be able to get anything good once we get there．
Zack： I don't know， Vera ﹣it's already eleven o'clock．．
Tim： Actually， why don't we have a look at Stanley， Market before we go to the beach？ The bus stops right in front of the market． I want to look for some casual shirts and trousers．
Kelly： Oh， yes， Tim， let's do that．Maybe they have some trendy swim suits，and some jewellery…
Zack： [to himself] This is really awful! [to the others] Look， I don't want to go to a restaurant or go shopping﹣I just want to go to the beach on a nice day． You all said you'd go with me， but if you don't want to， you don't have to． See you later．
[sound of a door opening and closing ]
Vera： Somebody's not glad!
Tim： Well， it was his idea to go out， after all．
Kelly： Oh， dear， poor Zack． I'm going to call him．
[on the telephone] Hi， Zack？ Look， just wait at the bus stop for me． I'm coming now． I won't go to the mall．
Tim： Tell him I'm coming too． We don't need to stop at the market．
Vera：[sighs（吸气）] Oh， all right． I can risk having lunch at the beach， I guess．
Kelly：[on the telephone] Zack？ We're all coming now． We should all enjoy this great day together．
[to the rest] OK， let's go． We shouldn't keep Zack waiting．
Tim：[hurriedly] OK， come on， everybody…[fade]
（1）What does "I'm in!" in line 7 mean？
A． I'll come too．
B． I'm on the bus．
C． I'm at home now．
D． I've made a decision．
（2）In lines 9 and 10， Vera thinks that ．
A． it's more fun to have lunch in Tsim Sha Tsui
B． the food at Stanley Beach isn't very good
C． the others will be angry because of her suggestion
D． she will be hungry by the time they get to the beach
（3）In line 22， who does "somebody" refer to？
A． Kelly．
B． Tim．
C． Vera．
D． Zack．
（4）Which of the following might be the best title for the play？
A． How to Make Decisions
B． Let's Plan a Trip!
C． Stop for a While
D． Keep It Simple!
Stephen Hawking， one of the world's most famous scientists， believed that humans will one day have to move into space， "Once we step into space， our future should be safe，" he said．
Today，many countries are all planning to send astronauts to Earth's closest neighbor：the moon．Some of these countries want to create space stations there within the next 10years．These stations will prepare humans to visit and later live on Mars or other earthlike planets．
①_____Robert Zubrin， a rocket scientist， thinks humans should colonize（殖民） space．He wants to start with Mars． Why？ He thinks sending people to Mars will allow us to learn a lot of things﹣for example，the ability of humans to live in a very different environment．Besides，any progress we make in the fields of science， technology， medicine． and health will do good to people here on Earth．
②______Elon Musk， the CEO of Space X also believes we should colonize Mars． His long﹣term goal is to put one million people there if something bad happens to us here on Earth．
③_____Many people say it's too expensive． Also， most space trips are not short．A one﹣way trip to Mars， for example， would take at least six months．People traveling this kind of distance could face many health problems．Besides，these first people would find life especially difficult in space．On the moon's surface， for example， the sun's rays are very dangerous．People would have to stay indoors most of the time．
④______No matter what different concerns there are， sending people into space seems certain． In the future， we might see cities on the moon or even new human cultures on other planets． First stop： the moon．
（1）According to the passage， why are some countries planning to build space stations？
A． To develop space travel．
B． To learn more about the moon's surface．
C． To prepare humans to live on other planets．
D． To cut down the number of people living on Earth．
（2）Which is the best place for the sentence "Not everyone thinks sending humans into space is a smart idea． "？
A．①
B．②
C．③
D．④
（3）What is the purpose of this passage？
A． To give reasons for and against colonizing space．
B． To describe what life would be like on the moon．
C． To compare the environments of Mars and the moon．
D． To introduce progress in space science and technology．